Smart Hydrogels as Water-Based Lubricants in Engineering and Biomedical Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Background:

Hydrogels are cross-linked hydrophilic polymers whose water-rich nature makes them broadly applicable in an aqueous microenvironment in both the engineering and biomedical fields. Advanced material synthesis and fabrication technology have rapidly led to the introduction of smart hydrogels in the traditional field of materials science. The use of hydrogels as water-based lubricants in engineering and biomedical applications is currently a hot research area. One of their applications is represented by the replacement of traditional mineral oil lubricants in ship bearings. Hydrogels also have great potential to treat disorders involving the lubricated surfaces of human organs, for example, articular cartilage.

Goal:

There has been considerable progress in the application water-based lubricants, including biopolymers and synthetic polymeric hydrogels, in recent years. However, the working mechanisms of lubrication and how the lubrication performance of these water-based hydrogels can be improved require further study and investigation. This Special Issue will specifically address these challenges.

Scope and Information for authors:

This Special Issue welcomes both review and research articles. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• New techniques for the design and fabrication of highly controllable hydration lubricants;
• The working mechanisms of hydrogels as water-based lubricants;
• Composite of water-based lubricants with hydrogels;
• Application of biological macromolecules, biomimetic polymers, polyelectrolytes and polyzwitterionic brushes, etc., as lubricants hydrogels.

Prof. Dr. Ying Yang
Dr. Pooya Davoodi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• hydrogels
• lubrication
• biotribology
• articular joint
• water-based lubricants
• composite lubricants